Sep 30, 2011

Second sanitary revolution

We are still living in the first sanitary revolution.

It began in the 1840’s in upstate Massachusetts where small villages began separating their incoming fresh water from their outgoing sewage. That immediately began increasing life span by reducing death rates.

That was a sanitation improvement that spread around the world and generated what became known as the population explosion. The explosion came to an end when the benefits of improved sanitation had been carried to the ends of the world.

The second sanitary revolution is just beginning. Everyone in hospitals on staff is required to clean their hands multiple times of day, and sanitizers are now ubiquitous in medical environments. Apparently, according to my medical doctor son-in-law, the evidence is overwhelming that hand sanitizers significantly reduce negative medical outcomes in hospitals.

That being the case we should expect some extension of lifespan as a result, worldwide, maybe a year or two on average. The first sanitary revolution added roughly 30 years to the average lifespan.

The Japanese are already the longest lived people on earth and they are also the cleanest.

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Second sanitary revolution

We are still living in the first sanitary revolution.

It began in the 1840’s in upstate Massachusetts where small villages began separating their incoming fresh water from their outgoing sewage. That immediately began increasing life span by reducing death rates.

That was a sanitation improvement that spread around the world and generated what became known as the population explosion. The explosion came to an end when the benefits of improved sanitation had been carried to the ends of the world.

The second sanitary revolution is just beginning. Everyone in hospitals on staff is required to clean their hands multiple times of day, and sanitizers are now ubiquitous in medical environments. Apparently, according to my medical doctor son-in-law, the evidence is overwhelming that hand sanitizers significantly reduce negative medical outcomes in hospitals.

That being the case we should expect some extension of lifespan as a result, worldwide, maybe a year or two on average. The first sanitary revolution added roughly 30 years to the average lifespan.

The Japanese are already the longest lived people on earth and they are also the cleanest.